Apparatus for casting metal



April 4 A. w. MORRIS I APPARATUS FOR CASTING METAL Filed Aug. 15, 1934ATTORNEYS P atented Apr. 2, 1940 UNITED STATES APPARATUS FOR CASTINGMETAL Albert Wood Morris, Springfield, Mass assignor to MorrisEngineering Corporation, a corporation of Rhode Island ApplicationAugust 15, 1934, Serial No. 739,871

1 Claim.

This invention relates to an improved appa-' ratus for molding metal andis particularly useful in molding metals having high meltingtemperatures such as iron and steel as compared 6 with the white or redmetals.

I will disclose and describe my invention in connection with anillustrative embodiment thereof shown in the accompanying drawing fromwhich one skilled in the art will then be 10 able to practice in theillustrated as well as in many other specific forms of apparatus accordv 20 Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic view of a modified arrangement.

By way of illustration, the mold l is bolted to ladle 2 and the assemblyis pivoted at 3 to be rocked into various positions by counterbalanced:5 operating arm 4.

i The mold indicates the making of flatirons, there being shown threecavities, each of which might take about four pounds of metal apiece.They are connected by gates B, i, and 8 to the so manifold passage 9.The inlet to the latter is shown with its axis passing through pivotpoint 3 (which is preferably located at or near the line of runner 9)and registering with the outlet ill of ladle 2 in the assembly. as Fig.2 indicates the ladle with molten metal up to level II and this ladlesupply can be most conveniently replenished by pouring through openingi9 from a master supply. The mold i resting on top of ladle 2 is in theposition of being up- I 40 side down and the mold cavities are shownempty. To fill the cavities the whole unit of Fig. 2 is turned to theleft ninety degrees about so 2 changes from line to dotted line II atright angles to I I. As this happens the metal in the ladle ismanipulated to apply a hydraulic head on the metal to fill the moldcavities. At no time during this change of hydraulichead from line a IIto line I! can the transition occur except in a gentle uniform mannergiving an exceedingly gentle flow of metal through passages 9, 8, l, and6 into cavities 5.

The manifold or runner passage 9 is preferably of decreasingcross-section as indicated so as to 5 cause metal flow to gate 8, thento I and to 6. The bottom lines of the mold cavities adjacent theirgates .are preferably staggered as indicated. The result of thesepreferred arrangements is that the metal enters and rises in theplurality 10 of mold cavities at substantially the same time.

As soon as the cavities are filled the parts can be turned back to theposition of Fig. 2. It takes but a moment to return the parts to theposition of Fig. 2. In this position although the metal in the cavitiesmay be higher than the metal level in the ladle, the cavity metal caninot drain back even though it is still liquid since the only outlet isan uphill one through each cavity gate. But the metal in manifold 9 candrain back and it is desirable to have it do so.

It will be clear that the mold can be filled in all its cavities by a,very gentle, uniform, eflicient, and convenient motion about pivot 3 andwhen filled can be returned to the original position of 26, Fig. 2. .Inthat position the castings may be left to harden, the mold opened andclosed, ladle etal replenished when necessary, all in preparation forthe next cycle.

The form of frame support is indicated in Fig. 1 an sawhorse withbearings to receive stub shafts on the ladle. Operating arm 4 is keyedto one, and counterbalancing arm IS with slidable weight i6 is keyed tothe other. A hanging hook or bail I3 is pivoted on arm 4 so as to fallunder projection l4 to hold the mold and ladle assemblyin dotted lineposition for easy release as wanted. The mold i is clamped to the coverIn Fig.- 2 the lip 20 of theladle is to dip down so i into the metalso'as to shut off the surface below the'outlet i II from the rest of themetal surface-inv the ladle. Th s is a common expedient in pouringladies to shut ofl part of the dross formed on the ladle metal. Thevents I are. of s common form and take impurities, if any, in the ballpart which is knocked off the casting.

I am aware that others have filled molds by what is termed bottompouring. By this is meant that the metal enters the mold and rises fromthe bottom so as to avoid the splashing of top pouring. Bottom pouringcustomarily is carried on by gas pressure forcing the molten metalupwardly in the mold. My method and apparatus for many reasons giveimprovements for getting all bottom pouring results desired in a betterway. In casting iron, which expands at about its freezing temperature,the high gas pressure heretofore proposed in bottom pouring pressurecasting is not necessary as the pressure of the expansion against thecavity walls will solidify the casting at just the right time withoutany help from the gas. Its subsequent shrinking will occur in solidifiedcondition when no amount of gas pressure would help condense the metal.

I am aware that ladles have been before attached to molds,. the ladlefilled with molten metal, and the assembly turned around to pour themetal into the mold by such action. Patent to Durville 1,189,548, ofJuly 4, 1916, is an example. But in these prior art plansthe castingoperation does not occur so as to attain the bottom pouring advantages.They pour or fill the mold from the top, so far as I know them.

Under my invention the flow of the metal from the ladle into themanifold or runner 9 is in the nature of top pouring but the flow of themetal from the manifold 9 to the mold cavities to make the desiredcastings is a bottom pouring action. Runner 9 is only an intermediatestation for the metal on its way to the cavities 5. The gate openings 6,I, and 8 to the cavities are restricted. No matter how rapidly theapparatus is turned the metal cannot flow too rapidly into the cavitiesor spatter, which is a danger of top pouring. In bottom pouring themetal enters the mold, spreads over the bottom, and gradually rises,like the ocean tide, with advantages long recognized in the casting art.In my method and apparatus I have shown a new and improved way to"bottom" pour. And I also get the advantage of pressure casting insofaras the level I! results in hydraulic pressure against the "pipe linefeeding passages to the cavities 5.

The apparatus of Fig. 1 can be arranged in multiple production units ina line and while one mold is waiting for metal to harden another in linewith it is under manipulation by the operators. The openings" I9 of theseries of ladles are left in a convenient position for replenishing eachunit. The mold part of each assembly is mounted as on a bench for mostconvenient opening and prepara n operations for the next pouring. Themold may be of any type, permanent or metal molds, or sand molds and thelike. These things will all be understood without further description ofthe intended practice of the invention.

In Fig. 3 I have shown-a modified arrangement. A mold 2i with a singlecavity (as for a crank shaft) is mounted above ladle 22, with a C-shaped runner passage 23 from ladle to mold cavity. The ladle and moldare connected at or near their ends so that the ladle, nozzle and moldentrance are coupled at 24 for pressure pouring. With this arrangementwhen the assembly is turned left on pivot point 25, the passage 23becomes U-shaped. -This causes the metal from the ladle to pressure"pour from the hydraulic head and enter the mold cavity only from thebottom upwardly, rising progressively to fill the cavity. This makes anextremely simple arrangement for bottom pouring by tipping the ladle andmold together.

I claim:

An apparatus for casting comprising a mold and a ladle rotatable inunison about a substantially horizontal axis and a system of gates andrunners connecting the cavity of said mold with the interior of saidladle, the assembly being adapted to be swung from an inoperative 35position where the system of gates and runners is above the metal levelin the ladle to an operative position where the metal flows from theladle into the mold to completely fill the mold cavity, said system ofgates and runners having one point higher than all points of the moldcavity in all positions of the mold and ladle where any point of themold is above the metal level in the ladle, so that the ladle may betilted from operative to inoperative position before the metal hasbecome solified in some point of the system of gates and runners, thusallowing the metal between the high point of the gate and runner systemand the ladle to flow back into the ladle.

ALBERT WOOD MORRIS.

